Tag Archives: Stay Gold

The Summer Bartlett collection has been released from Benny Gold! They decided to take a trip down to Baja, Mexico for their lookbook to perfectly capture those surfer vibes. More graphics, intricate prints, and high quality items have been added to this collection.

New Work’s for Jerks graphics have been used for a few of the summer tees. Benny Gold explains the meaning behind this iconic phrase, “When you do what you love all the time, the lines between work and play dissolve. That’s why we say Work’s for Jerks. Do what you love and love what you do, and you’ll always be on vacation.”

Native San Francisco label Benny Gold didn’t start as an intended apparel brand – instead, it was the result of a series of life events that gradually steered the creative genius to own what is now an internationally distributed brand.

Still and forever a skater at heart, truly humble and straight up down-to-earth; Benny took the time to share a bit of the history of the brand and his views on his success with us – dropping down some sage advice. If you don’t already know, he’s also got an absolutely adorable daughter – you’d have to follow him on instagram to see what we’re talking about (@bennygold).

You mentioned in an interview that Keith Hufnagel got you to start putting your own line out – why did you pick your own name to represent the line you put out?
The funny thing is, the clothing brand came to be before I even realized it. At the time, there were already a good amount of design projects out there with my name attached to it. Keith said to me, “Why start with a new, unfamiliar name?” So here we are with good old Benny Gold.

Tell us a bit about your relationship with Keith Hufnagel.
He was one of the groomsmen at my wedding! That’s how close we are. Keith is someone who completely changed the way I look at things. I used to be so focused on designing for clients and he taught me about making myself the client. I wouldn’t be where I am now without him. Thanks Keith!

As a graphic designer, how did you learn other facets of the business like manufacturing and operations once you decided to come out on your own?
Designers don’t learn any of that stuff studying art in college or working for other people. I have been picking all that up on the job as we go. There have been a ton of mistakes made along the way, but I’m a firm believer in ‘nothing happens without a reason.’

How big a role would you say photography plays in the running of a brand?
It’s a game-changer. Photography is how you present your brand to the world. The more pro the images are, the more pro you look.

What do you look for when you shoot lookbooks? What’s the process like?
A strong concept is the core to everything. We focus on concept in every aspect from the initial sketches to the finished season’s lookbook.

What role do you play in the shooting of your lookbooks? Do you shoot them yourself, do you art direct?
Most of our lookbooks have been shot by friends of ours and we’re crazy lucky to be surrounded by tons of creative people all the time. We always look for photographers whose work we respect.

Tell us a bit about how long it took before your brand got picked up to be distributed internationally and what the story leading up to that was like. How did you feel about all this?
Honestly, I don’t remember when international distributors initially reached out to us about bringing the brand to their countries. It just happened and we’ve had solid relationships with them for years now. It’s exciting to see that we’re all growing together.

We often see photos of your really cute daughter Rumi, on instagram – how are you enjoying fatherhood and what are you like as a father?
Fatherhood has been amazing in that it really put into perspective what’s important in my life. It’s obviously challenging to run a business and be a father, but life is about balance. I can’t waste time on stuff like watching skate videos or looking at blogsites anymore and it’s definitely worth it.

After creating a burger glider for Benny Gold in 2013, Benjie Escobar was featured as a guest artist in Benny Gold’s spring 2015 collection. Benjie is LA- based and is an extremely talented, creative and innovative artist. His influences come from his childhood experiences in Pomona, California, along with anime, lowrider bike culture, graffiti, raves, streetwear, DJ culture, Japan, typography, design, illustration and, of course, pizza.

His designs are featured on multiple T-shirts, in magazines and elsewhere. He is known for curating art exhibitions, inventing new zine genres, art-directing gourmet burger festivals and building brands.

Benjie used his love for pizza and incorporated it into the infamous Benny Gold glider with the motto, “Stay Gold.” It’s now hot n’ ready for your wardrobe.

You can also learn more about Benjie Escobar on Benny Gold’s blog. Want to know if Benny Gold is available in your country? Ask us!

Benny Gold started out with a dream, as most young kids do, and moved to San Francisco to skateboard. He went to school for art and design, which eventually led him to being a graphic designer for different corporations. Originally, Gold became the designer behind HUF, but wanted to take it to another level. He was watching everyone’s dreams come true and figured it was time for him to let go and let his creative mind roam. One day he posted a sticker around town, which is the original “gilder” sticker inspired by the old mantra, “stay gold.” Who knew a sticker could start the bold brand, Benny Gold.

The original gilder plane sticker is now featured as a logo on many of his screen print tees. The paper plane philosophy of Gold is “ever young, always moving.” I think the symbol is great and the importance behind it is even greater. Gold is always moving forward in life and in his company, developing the brand to the best of his abilities. This is the “Gilder tye dye red” tee and I love how the tye dye almost has an acid wash feel to it.

Benny Gold has a lot of experience with graphic design especially which is why he knows what his customers will like. His designs may be simple, yet intricate. This pocket tee he has created is very trendy and the design is spectacular. He has incorporated the famous gilder plane into the geometrical diamond pattern.

The goal for the brand Benny Gold is to “emphasize the importance of staying true to your passions, growing up without growing old, and a DIY work ethic.” This is a truly inspiring quote and is very down to earth. The DIY, do it yourself, ethic is a great example to follow your dreams, just like Gold, but it is up to you to make it happen. This is only the start of Benny Gold and you will be seeing a lot more of him.

Benny Gold has done collaborations with big companies like Jansport, and recently did a collection with Publish. Check it out!